A singer/songwriter? A folk musician? Some new age indie artist? When approaching her third album, aptly titled Separate Rooms, Megan Bonnell realized she was all those things, comfortable to be in various places simultaneously.
“That’s what makes us so interesting as humans, how multifaceted and layered we are and our capacity to be many different things,” Bonnell tells me a few days ahead of her show with The Once Friday night at the National Arts Centre. “Separate Rooms reflects that idea on the album. It’s genre bending. There are different moods throughout. I had the confidence this time around to let it move along many different paths.”
The album, one that touches on some pretty intense subject matter such as mental illness and the loss of a pregnancy, has been receiving critical acclaim for the Toronto musician. Her music has never been something you could quite pin down into one particular category. Separate Rooms is perhaps her deepest dive into her wells of creativity as it meanders around traditional genres to brush on the indigos, reds and blacks of a tapestry full of young love, independence and yearning.
With this release, Bonnell continues to cement her place as one of Canada’s leading voices. Finding a moment on her 10 date tour that includes a return to Ottawa come March, we chat more about the album, the change up to her writing approach and the collaborations that pushed this personal release into the light.
Andre Gagne: Separate Rooms is your third release so you have that first album behind you and the pressure of a follow-up. Musicians have generally told me that number three is a bit more laid back. How did you find things going into recording this third album?
Between my sophomore album, Magnolia and recording Separate Rooms, I began working on a side project that had me in the studio a lot, exercising my production skills. Up to that point, I readily felt that I didn’t know how to confidently communicate my ideas within the studio setting. It felt intimidating- like it was a language that I didn’t know how to speak. This time was integral for me, because it allowed me to push out of my comfort zone and immerse myself when I wasn’t under the pressure of making my own album.
By the time we got to recording Separate Rooms, I felt more confident in the studio and as an artist. I believe that also had to do with that fact that I was now in my 30’s and more aware of who I was and what I wanted to say. It freed me up from “trying” to be anything and allowed us to be honest, direct and adventurous. It was so much fun.
Was there any direction you decided to move in differently than, say, Magnolia
or Hunt and Chase having now explored a bit more time in the recording studio?
My producers Chris Stringer, Joshua Van Tassel and I were very clear that we wanted this album to have a much edgier, pop vibe to it. It was important to us to have it sound up front, bold and with some grit. My past two albums had been more subdued and quiet overall. It was a natural progression for us to lean into this one in a grand manner and bring the band with it.
The album does deal with some intense subjects such as miscarriage, ending a love and mental illness. What had you tackling these serious themes and how do you feel they have come off in the music?
I think a lot of the reason I felt inspired to go there on this album was because of this wonderful movement of women speaking up. I continue to feel most powerful as a woman when I’m being honest and vulnerable about my emotional experiences.
I have no doubt that I have been encouraged by the women I have grown up listening to. I’ve always been inspired by edgy female artists. The ones who refuse to sand down the edges of their message to make it more polite and romantic. We’re in a time where all of us are starting to lean into the difficult subject matter and talk about it. As a result, we’re shattering the old taboos.
It is very important as an artist to be conscious of what message we are sending out. It wouldn’t have been an honest album if I tried to steer away from the tough stuff, because the tough stuff is what inspired me to write it.
I love the title track! What was going through your mind when you wrote it?
The idea of title track, Separate Rooms is the realization that in relationships, you can be deeply in love and still need to be alone sometimes. I believe it is healthy to have that independence. It also is a statement that we all exist in a series of different rooms, and have different versions of ourselves, that make us us.
That song was co-written with Donovan Woods. How did you two come to meet and work on the track?
I’ve been a fan of Donovan’s music for many years now. We share a drummer, Joshua Van Tassel. I think it was initially Josh that put the idea in my head to reach out to Donovan about writing together. I had an idea in mind that I wanted to bring to him. It can be intimidating sitting down with someone you don’t know very well to write a song. It comes with a sense of pressure. But Donovan is a wonderful person to get along with and he’s a real professional when it comes to collaborative writing. We had a lot of fun spending the day working on "Separate Rooms". It felt natural and conversational. It was also informative to me, watching him push us through road blocks along the way. When I might usually think to call it a day and come back to it when inspiration struck again, he stuck with it and led us to breakthrough moments with the song. I’m so happy to have worked with him on this.
"Breakdown" begins the album and it does sort of set the tone for some of the subject matter on the journey. Was that track chosen to open Separate Rooms for a reason?
For me, "Breakdown" both recognizes mental health issues that are prevalent in our society but also things in all of us, moments of instability and despair that we can all feel. I wrote it in an effort to make it less taboo, both for myself and hopefully others. We don’t need to be ashamed of our low points, and I don’t think that should be assigned to weakness. Especially these days where we all are encouraged to promote the best versions of ourselves on social media. I want to practice being upfront with that weakness and vulnerability and say not only is it ok, but we celebrate all aspects of ourselves and connect over them. I suppose that’s why I chose to lead with it. It feels like an invitation into the rest of the album.
Can you tell me about penning "Radio Silence" and why the song’s topic was important for you to share?
"Radio Silence" is a song that I wrote in response to a painful experience a dear friend went through. My reflex in those situations whether its happening to me directly or to someone that l I love, is to write about it as a way to try and make some sense of it. Women and families can feel so alone in their pain and loss.
Along that thread, how do you approach new songs? Does a melody come to mind? Lyrics first or is it a mix based on where the song inspiration lies?
I find each song comes about differently. I keep a running list of lyric ideas on my phone and have countless voice memos of melodies. My favourite approach is when I can feel the inspiration well up inside and sit down at the piano and all of it comes together at once. The piano, melody and lyrics. There is a chemistry between it all when it happens that feels magical.
I read that you changed up your writing process a bit for Separate Rooms, devoting more time over a period of months. Did you find that more satisfying, letting things percolate a bit more?
We started in the studio in January and didn’t finish recording the album until September. It was so rewarding to be able to take our time and really sit with things as we went along. It allowed each song to breathe and speak to us about what it needed. It also inspired me to write a lot in between and some of those songs ended up on the album. If I am always able to work on an album that way, it’s now my favourite approach!
I do love the shifts and styles on this release. What type of feel were you trying to create for the album?
I wanted this album to have pop sensibilities with a lot of groove. There are stark and quiet moments where it gets stripped back to the basics, but I love that the band is very present throughout. I wanted this album to embrace the many moods it carries and feel sonically explorative because that excites me and my producers.
Though a personal album, you did open this recording up to a lot of collaboration (ie: the aforementioned writing with Woods). What do you feel Joshua Van Tassel and Chris Stringer added to the mix when recording Separate Rooms?
Chris and Josh play an extremely big role in the sound of my music. The three of us became a team at the beginning of Hunt and Chase, and I’ve never looked back. I am a solo artist, so when I bring my songs to the studio, they are stripped down versions of themselves. Josh and Chris are such visionaries and they know how to bring my music into its fully realized state. Each album has become more stylized in its production. Josh and Chris are meticulous to detail, and passionate about being explorative and boundary pushing. To me that’s the best combination.
You’ve mentioned how you feel your voice has been shaped over time as you have gained more confidence to experiment more with it. With this release how do you view where you are at now and what it added to the album?
I definitely feel like I’m standing in my shoes more comfortably than ever before as an artist. I think that just comes with experience. The more time I have spent writing and performing, it all just seems to settle in and I feel more and more free to follow my instincts. I hope that it added more vulnerability and honesty to this album.
How have you felt these new songs translate live?
I have had the time of my life performing this album. I’ve had the band with me for almost all of my shows this year and it’s been so much fun performing these songs true to the album. Also the connection and support you build on stage together as a group is an extremely empowering feeling. It’s been so much fun.